Unionized Cannabis Industry Workers Threat Is Off, Eaze Conflict Reaches Agreement

"Our strike threat put them in a corner," said Austin Williams, delivery driver and member of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 324. The union came to an agreement with Eaze/Stachs in a labor conflict that has lingered for nine months. 

Union representatives reached an agreement via a bargaining committee made up of Eaze employees represented by UFCW locals 5, 135, 324, and 770. The agreement guarantees better pay, a fair process for reimbursement of the costs of operating their vehicles, work hours and a multitude of enforceable rights and protections on the job. The committee is recommending that all implied workers sign the offer, which is expected to happen in the coming days.

"We felt we needed to reject the company’s initial offer, and an overwhelming majority of Eaze members agreed, which brought the company back to the table," said Giovanna Sanchez-Esquival, a driver at Element 7 in South San Francisco. Conflict duration is explained by this and other previous rejections, which led to a halt in negotiations in the past March.

This agreement comes at a time when cannabis delivery company Eaze is facing hurdles on multiple fronts, including a lawsuit brought by former partners Green Dragon.

Unions And The Cannabis Industry

This outcome sets a new landmark for labor rights in the cannabis industry, which due to an increase in labor demand has been fertile territory for unionization in recent years.

Several other successful unionizing efforts were undertaken across the country over major companies during 2023 such as Cannabist Company Holdings Inc CBSTF in New Jersey, Cresco Labs CRLBF in Illinois, Grassdoor in California and Verano Holdings Corp VRNOF in Chicago.

Apart from UFCW and Teamsters, both trespassing a million associates, there is a plethora of smaller representations among the cannabis industry workers, some of which have been deemed as management-aligned fake unions by industry workers.